As augmented reality further permeates the urban environment, do architects play a role in planning virtual spaces?

2018-10-03T17:59:00-04:00

Over the past couple of decades, artists and designers have developed augmented realities that propose vastly different, and often more radical perspectives of what a digitally enhanced public realm could look like. [...] many actually existing AR projects instead ask critical questions about the implementation of this novel technology and its potential to shift both the everyday experiences and political economies of architecture and cities.

In his latest Failed Architecture piece, Joshua McWhirter offers an insightful history of noteworthy augmented reality-powered works of art, activism, game design, and simulation while also issuing a warning call about the impending privatization and commodification of the virtual public space without much input from architects. "And as this landscape increasingly constitutes a public realm in and of itself," McWhirter writes, "a collection of hybrid real-virtual public spaces, there are even glimmers of direct challenges to its creeping privatization."

Leaving town? This bot will write your goodbye letter for you

2015-08-27T19:31:00-04:00

Of course, San Francisco has much to offer. The clothing stores, the cable cars, the botanical gardens. My neighbor the conveyor operator, Alan. The libraries, the sports bars, the bus stations. Sigh.

"Leaving Everywhere" is a piece of net art that spits out "break-up" letters with cities by citing randomly-selected data from the US Census Bureau. Made by Darius Kazemi, the letters are all essentially Mad Libs for arguing about cities, where Kazemi's algorithm fills in the blanks.

The letters are all structured more or less the same, expressing things loved about the city followed by its flaws, then some redeeming quality, a comment on racial demographics, and then sometimes, a Shakespeare quotation. This gives a deliciously arbitrary, and at times a bit unsettling, flavor to the data.

Here's a prime example, to Boston:

Boston, it is time for us to part. In just a few weeks I'll be moving to Newark, New Jersey.

I'm going to miss things about this city for sure. The bakeries, the Belarusian restaurants, the convention centers. The Greek restaurants, the flower shops, the toll booths. My local communications equipment operator, Delaney. It is with a heavy heart that I leave here.

That ...

Archinect - News

As augmented reality further permeates the urban environment, do architects play a role in planning virtual spaces?

Leaving town? This bot will write your goodbye letter for you